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Recipes from THE BEST OF JAYNI'S KITCHEN COOKBOOK

Sweet Piquante Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

4 ounces soft goat cheese, chilled
3 to 4 tablespoons créme fraiche, chilled
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 14-ounce jar whole sweet piquante peppers*
fresh rosemary sprigs

In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese and créme fraiche, blending with a fork until smooth. Stir in the minced rosemary.

Drain the liquid from the piquante peppers. If some peppers do not sit upright, slice a very thin piece off the bottoms. Spoon the cheese mixture into a pastry bag or a small plastic storage bag** and pipe it into the peppers. Place the peppers on a serving plate, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more. Garnish the plate with rosemary sprigs and serve chilled. Makes 24 to 30 stuffed peppers.

* Sweet piquante peppers are tiny, bright red peppers from South Africa. They are bathed in a sweet sour marinade. The peppers can sometimes be purchased in bulk.

** A plastic storage bag may be used in place of a pastry bag. Fill the storage bag with the cheese mixture, seal and snip a small opening in one corner of the bag.

Recipe for Sweet Piquante Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese by Jayni Carey.

Red Lentil Soup with Apricot and Mango

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 to 4 teaspoons garlic, minced
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
½ cup dried mangoes, chopped
1 ½ cups dried red lentils, rinsed
6 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 14.5-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped (with juice)
2 to 3 teaspoons cumin seed, roasted for 3 minutes in a 350 degree oven
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil over medium heat in large soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion, garlic, chopped apricots and mangoes. Sauté until all ingredients are soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the lentils and vegetable broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, tomatoes, roasted cumin seed, thyme, salt and lemon pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes more. If the soup is too thick, thin with extra vegetable broth. Add the lemon juice and adjust seasonings as needed. Simmer the soup for 2 to 3 minutes more.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle each with chopped cilantro. Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe for Red Lentil Soup with Apricot and Mango by Bev Fertig.

Chicken Provencal

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
salt & black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
3 to 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/3 cup Provencal black olives, pitted and halved
1 teaspoon orange zest

Rinse the chicken pieces in cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large braising pan or skillet with a lid. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. (Do not crowd). Lower the heat to medium to prevent burning if necessary. Remove browned pieces to a platter.

Add the sliced shallots and garlic to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 2 minutes, just until softened. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add the wine and scrape up the browned bits. Simmer the wine gently over medium heat to reduce by half, 4 to 5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the chopped tomato and sprinkle the chicken with the herbes de Provence. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 50 minutes, or until the chicken is very tender. Baste the chicken with the pan juices twice during cooking. Add the olives and orange zest during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Skim excess fat from the pan, if desired.

Serve the chicken pieces topped with some of the pan juices. Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe for Chicken Provencal by Jayni Carey.

Burnt Sugar Bread Pudding

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups 1-inch bread cubes, lightly-packed (ciabatta or other high quality white bread)
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
¾ cup sugar
2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
butter (for loaf pan)
½ cup sugar
sweetened whipped cream

Remove most of the crust from the bread and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg and ¾ cup of sugar together until the mixture becomes a light lemon color. Whisk in the half and half, vanilla extract and salt. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes and stir gently to combine. Let the mixture stand for about 15 minutes.

Generously butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. To caramelized the sugar, place ½ cup of sugar in a

medium skillet over medium heat. Gently shake the pan two or three times as it begins to liquefy. When it begins to color around the edges, stir gently with a wooden spoon until it begins to caramelize. When the syrup reaches a medium mahogany color (do not let the sugar scorch) remove the pan from heat and continue stirring for about 30 seconds to cool slightly.

Place about one-third of the bread mixture in the buttered loaf pan. Drizzle about one-third of the caramelized sugar syrup over the bread mixture. (The syrup will be extremely hot so handle with care.) Repeat the process two more times ending with the remaining syrup drizzled over the top.

Place the bread pudding in a 325 degree oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the bread pudding is lightly browned and somewhat firm, but jiggles slightly in the center when the pan is gently shaken. When cool, run a knife around the edges of the loaf pan and carefully remove the bread pudding from the pan. Slice and serve at room temperature or chilled. Top with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Serves 8.

Recipe for Burnt Sugar Bread Pudding by Jayni Carey.

Chocolate-Dipped Espresso Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup coarsely crushed espresso beans

Ingredients: Chocolate Coating

8 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla, then flour and salt. Mix until well-combined. Gently stir in the crushed espresso beans.

Place the dough on waxed paper and shape into rolls, approximately 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Chill about 1 hour, or until firm.

Slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake in a 350 oven for about 9 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove the parchment paper with the cookies on it from the baking sheet and cool completely.

Chocolate Coating: Melt chocolates together in the top of a double boiler over about 1-inch of simmering water. Dip 1/2 of each cookie into chocolate, let cool. Makes 6 to 7 dozen.

Recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Espresso Cookies by Paula Naughtin.

Wine Recommendations by Tom Hodge: 2006 Pannotia Vineyards, Torrontés and La Vieille Ferme Récolte, Cotes Du Ventoux. Jayni's recommendation: 2005 Perrin & Fils Gigondas La Gille.